The United States on Tuesday renewed the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) through the end of the year, an agreement that allows many African countries to access the US market duty-free.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement that President Donald Trump had signed into law a reauthorisation of the trade preference programme through 31 December 2026, with retroactive effect from 30 September 2025 – the date on which it had expired.
“AGOA for the 21st century must demand more from our trading partners and deliver greater market access for US businesses, farmers and ranchers,” Greer said.
Trump has frequently used trade and tariffs – which he has called his “favourite word” – as both an incentive and a weapon to reshape international relations in line with his priorities.
In a statement, Greer pledged to “work with Congress over the next year to modernise the programme to align with” current US policy.
A cornerstone of US–Africa trade relations for 25 years, AGOA has enabled the United States to import billions of dollars’ worth of cars, clothing and other goods duty-free from selected African countries each year.
However, the agreement, which applies to 32 African nations, expired last September, affecting thousands of jobs and forcing exporters to absorb steep tariff costs.
In 2024, goods worth $8.23 billion were exported under the accord, half of which came from South Africa – mainly cars, precious metals and agricultural produce – and about one-fifth from Nigeria, largely oil and other energy products, according to the United States International Trade Commission (USITC).
Smaller countries were also badly affected. Lesotho’s textile sector, the country’s largest employer, was hit hard by AGOA’s lapse, and hundreds of workers protested in the capital, Maseru, in late October against job cuts triggered by the new US customs tariffs.
Lesotho, which Trump once described as a place “nobody has ever heard of”, exported $150 million worth of goods under the accord in 2024.
